Spike Lee Says He’ll Set Up A Kickstarter Endowment To Fund Other Projects If His Is Profitable

Spike Lee Says He'll Set Up A Kickstarter Endowment To Fund Other Projects If His Is Profitable

Thanks to Dankwa for catching this, because I missed it. But it’s something you should be aware of – at the very least, so that you can hold him to it!

In an August 12th live chat, discussing his mysterious Kickstarter-funded project,Spike Lee revealed, about a third of the way through it, that if this new joint of his makes a profit, he’ll set up what he calls a Spike Lee Kickstarter Endowment, which will be used to back projects by other filmmakers, every quarter – as in, four times a year.

As you’ll see in the video, he even encourages viewers to “write that down!” So write it down!

The one thing that Spike just might regret later, is how transparent this entire process has been for him. We all know exactly – to the penny – how much money was raised for the upcoming film, and he’s made a few promises (including the one above), on video, that folks will likely remind him of in time. So after the film is made and it opens in theaters, I’m sure we’ll all be watching its box office totals very closely – especially those who contributed to the campaign.

What “profit” looks like exactly in this case, I really don’t know. How much of the film’s profit will be put into this endowment, we don’t know that yet either.

But we do know that the film’s Kickstarter campaign ended earlier today, raising $1,418,910. But we also have to assume that this is strictly production funding, and doesn’t include any P&A costs, no marketing, etc – essentially, money that will be spent after the film is made, and on its theatrical release.

Hypothetically, let’s say it’s a box office smash (relative to budget) earning $20 million in ticket sales. How much of that will go into the endowment? Again, we don’t know that yet either.

Questions, questions… I have a few.

Still, I’d say that the gesture is the right one, all things considered. I think he’s the first celebrity with a successful gazillion dollar Kickstarter campaign that has made this kind of an offer.